


by the oak trees

by glory_of_bygone_days



Series: our brightest stars [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu | Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-13 04:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19243717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glory_of_bygone_days/pseuds/glory_of_bygone_days
Summary: “You don’thaveto miss me, idiot. You could stay here… or at least come and visit me.”The patch of dirt once again seemed to command her entire attention and the words spoken next were muttered so quietly, Teeny almost missed them.“I don’t want to be the empress if you’re not with me.”





	by the oak trees

**Author's Note:**

> i generally use the official names as per fire emblem treasure. if youre bothered by that but still want to read this fic, i suggest a word replacer!

“A-are you sure this is a good idea? I’m sure the others will be worried! What if we get attacked?”

Teeny struggled to keep up with Julia’s pace and, as the other suddenly stops and whips her head around, she almost runs into her.

“Don’t worry! I told Celice since we ran into him, remember? Besides, we’re going to be back before sundown as promised, and it’s not like we’re some dolls incapable of defending ourselves.” She grins. “Who’s going to attack us, anyway? A bee?” She traces a line through the air with her index finger while making buzzing sounds. Then she laughs before taking Teeny’s hand and continuing their trek through the forest. “I promise it’s really nothing dangerous this time. I know you’ll love it!”

Teeny shudders a little as she remembers the last time she heard similar words coming out of the girl’s mouth, but in the end decided to trust her. After all, she surely should by now be aware of the common definition of “not dangerous”... right?

Her thoughts come to a halt when they suddenly reach the end of the forest or, perhaps, it was just a clearing? She wasn’t particularly familiar with this area… not that this would truly change in the future. Why did that thought always make her feel so incurably sad?

“It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?”

Julia plops down on the ground and angles her head as if she was trying to take in as much of the sunlight as humanly possible.

Teeny sits down next to her and hums as she stares wistfully into the distance. Something inside her protests at the sudden lack of warmth in her hand - by the Gods, how could a human be so impossibly _warm_?, but she quickly silences it with all her might.

It really _is_ beautiful here, the meadow with flowers decorating it like carelessly arranged spots in countless colors seemingly stretching on beyond the horizon. The crowns of the trees lining their surroundings dancing in the gentle breeze. It truly felt like spring.

“You know, you’ve really changed from when we first met. You never talked to people out of your own volition, and when others tried to start a conversation with you, you would always just reply with few words and seem uncomfortable all the while. I was… worried. You always looked so lonely.”

Julia looks up for a moment before channeling her attention to burying her right hand in the dirt below the blades of grass.

“Well, I was…. pretty shy, you see? It’s not easy to be open with people you just met. People you know nothing about - nothing of importance, anyway.”

She stops for a second to observe a worm wiggling its way out of her grasp.

“...and all this while I didn’t even know who _I_ was, myself.”

Teeny doesn’t miss the bitter tone of her voice, and something inside her twists uncomfortably in response to it.

“...but it’s different now, right? You’re not alone anymore. We’re your friends. We know who you are. And you do, too.”

“Who _am_ I, though?”

Teeny looks at her, surprise clearly written all over her face.

“Well, you’re princess Julia of Grandbell, aren’t you? Soon to be its empress… your coronation isn’t far off anymore, right?”

At that, Julia clenches her right hand until she can feel the dirt digging under her fingernails. Surely she would get yelled at once they returned from their outing about how negligent she was with her appearance, but she couldn’t find it within her to be bothered by that. Celice would understand it, at least.

“That’s who I was born as, yes. What I was born _for_ , maybe? It’s my duty to the people of a country I can barely remember. As a descendant of Heim, it’s my obligation to rule over Belhalla and as such the empire as a whole. Who else is there to do it, anyway? Celice is next in line, but he has even less experience in the way of the court than I do, and he’s already going to struggle with just Chalphy.”

She lets out a small chuckle, but there’s no joy in her voice.Teeny, unsure how to react, opted for twirling a flower in her hand absentmindedly. Should she even say anything at all? After all, it wasn’t really her place…

Her mind wandered to her own future. With Ishtar in no position to inherit Freege and Arthur making it abundantly clear that he wouldn’t even get close to it out of his own free will, the lands automatically fell to her. Up until the end of their fight, she had never even entertained the idea of ruling anything and as such was as unprepared as one could be. Not that it was much different for the others meant to rule the different countries of Jugdral - they were a generation raised to survive in times of strife, fight in a war; not to diplomatically govern a country. It was something they would still have to learn, and Teeny can’t help but pray that none of them will one day repeat any of the mistakes their parents did. 

Most of the people she has come to cherish as close friends and who carried the same burden she did were still in Belhalla right now, but would without doubt soon follow the others who had already set out for the lands of their ancestors, to rebuild and restore what was destroyed by the war and lead everything into a better future.

Did they feel as sad as she did at the prospect of breaking up the group that grew together so tightly through the long time they spent together, all the hardships they faced side by side? She, at least, would still have some familiar faces under her, like Amalda and Olwen, but…

“I’m really going to miss you.”

She isn’t sure why she said that, really; it wasn’t as if voicing her thoughts would change the reality of the situation, and yet…

Julia let out a huff and flicked some dirt in Teeny’s general direction, who just managed to splutter out an indignant “Hey!”

“You don’t _have_ to miss me, idiot. You could stay here… or at least come and visit me.”

The patch of dirt once again seemed to command her entire attention and the words spoken next were muttered so quietly, Teeny almost missed them.

“I don’t want to be the empress if you’re not with me.”

Teeny doesn’t reply and Julia wonders if she had gone too far with her words - goodness, what if her words weren’t meant _like that_ , what if she had completely misinterpreted what the other had said? Had she made a terrible mistake? Had she been too bold in assuming….

When she finally found the courage to lift her head again, she found her heart stuttering at the sight of the other staring at her with wide eyes and rosy cheeks.

Teeny quickly caught herself again though, and with an embarrassed giggle she grabbed for Julia’s still grime-covered hand.

“Don’t worry, you won’t have to be.”


End file.
